Word Origin & History

attrition 1540s, "abrasion, a scraping," from L. attritionem (nom. attritio), lit. "a rubbing against," noun of action from attritus pp. of atterere "to wear, rub away," from ad- "to" + terere "to rub" (see throw). The earliest sense in Eng. is from Scholastic theology (late 14c.), "sorrow for sin merely out of fear of punishment," a minor irritation, and thus less than contrition. The sense of "wearing down an enemy's strength" is a World War I coinage (1914).